Muhammadiyah Urges China to Give Right to Worship for Uighur Muslims

Jakarta, MINA – Indonesian Muslim Organization, Muhammadiyah urged the Chinese government to give the right to worship for Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, China. Because the Chinese constitution prohibits its people from practicing worship in public places.

Muhammadiyah General Secretary Abdul Mu’ti said that Muhammadiyah urged the Chinese government to be more open in providing information and access to the international community regarding policies in Xinjiang. The Chinese government was also asked to stop all forms of human rights violations, especially to the Uighur community on any pretext.

“The government (China) should resolve the Uighur problem peacefully through dialogue with Uighur leaders and give freedom to Muslims to carry out worship and maintain identity,” Mu’ti said when delivering a statement of Muhammadiyah’s attitude at the Muhammadiyah Da’wah Building on Monday.

He conveyed Muhammadiyah also urged Muslims to address the issue of human rights violations in Xinjiang with wisdom, rationality, peace, and still maintain the ukhuwah Islamiyah and national unity. There should be no parties who deliberately make the Uighur problem a political commodity for certain groups and parties.

Muhammadiyah also requested to do not make the Uighur problem pitting the community by spreading misleading news, dividing people, and nations through social media, mass media, and various other forms of provocation. Muhammadiyah also appealed to Muhammadiyah people to consistently address the problem intelligently.

“Appealing to the Muhammadiyah people to hold fast to the khittah of Muhammadiyah, it is not affected by social media news that is inciting and cannot be justified,” he said.

Mu’ti said Muhammadiyah also regretted the reporting of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) which mentioned the existence of facilities and lobbies of the Chinese government towards Muhammadiyah, the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU), and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) as an effort to influence Muhammadiyah’s political attitudes and others Muslim organization such as NU and MUI for human rights issues in Xinjiang.

According to him, the WSJ report was baseless and slanderous which damaged the good name of Muhammadiyah, NU, and MUI. Then, Muhammadiyah urged WSJ to rectify the news and apologize to Muhammadiyah residents. “If this is not fulfilled, Muhammadiyah will take legal steps accordingly,” he said. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)